1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an electric connector assembly comprising a bracket accommodating a coarse pitch connector and a fine pitch connector, and in particular to an electric connector assembly allowing effective and proper mounting of the coarse pitch connector and the fine pitch connector thereof to a circuit board.
2. The Prior Art
Electric connector assemblies comprising two or more connectors are known in the art. However, in most applications, connectors comprised of a connector assembly are of substantially the same pitch or having pitches of the same order. Connectors of the same pitches have conductive pins of substantially same order of size, capable of local adjustment in mounting the connectors to a circuit board and bearing mounting forces applied thereto.
Combining connectors that have significantly different pitches, including fine pitch and coarse pitch, in an assembly is rare and represents a question in mounting the connector assembly to a circuit board for a fine pitch connector usually has conductive pins thinner and mechanically weaker than their counterparts of a coarse pitch connector. When mounting the connector assembly to a circuit board, both the fine pitch connector and the coarse pitch connector are subject to the same force which may result, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,074,248 in damage of the weaker pins of the fine pitch connector if they are not properly and precisely aligned with the circuit board during mounting process.
An example of an electric connector assembly comprising a coarse pitch connector and a fine pitch connector is disclosed in the co-pending US patent application Ser. No. 09/176,384 in which a traditional D-sub connector (a coarse pitch connector) and an ultra-SCSI connector (a fine pitch connector) are retained by a bracket. The D-sub connector has a pitch of 2.54 mm, while the ultra-SCSI connector has a pitch of 0.8 mm. The significant difference in pitch between the two connectors hinders smooth and efficient mounting of the electric connector assembly to a circuit board for care must be exercised to properly align the pins of both connectors, especially the fine pitch connector, with the corresponding holes defined in the circuit board.
Connectors for mounting to a circuit board are usually provided with guide posts integrally formed with a housing thereof for guiding the alignment between the connector and the circuit board. Similar to the problem encountered by the conductive pins, the guide posts of a fine pitch connector of a connector assembly are thinner and thus mechanically weaker than a coarse pitch connector of the assembly and do not properly perform the guiding function when the assembly is mounted to the circuit board for the guiding function is substantially taken over by the large posts of the bracket which are of a size corresponding to the coarse pitch connector. For such a reason, the conductive pins of the fine pitch connector are even easier to be subject to damage caused by misalignment.
The connector assembly disclosed in the previously mentioned US patent application Ser. No. 09/176,384 comprises a bracket defining an upper space for receiving and retaining the D-sub connector and a lower space for accommodating the ultra-SCSI connector. The bracket is provided with two guide posts comparable to the D-sub connector and thicker and longer than guide posts of the ultra-SCSI connector whereby during mounting the connector assembly to a circuit board, the guide posts of the bracket becomes dominant in guiding alignment of the connector assembly with the circuit board. However, the guide posts of the ultra-SCSI, due to mechanical weakness, is not capable to properly guide the alignment of the ultra-SCSI connector at the same time when the D-sub connector is aligned with the circuit board.
Meanwhile, the ultra-SCSI is provided with its own board locks for retaining the ultra-SCSI on the circuit board. The board locks, however, further hinder smooth engagement of the pins of the ultra-SCSI connector. However, without the board locks, the ultra-SCSI connector may be floating during a dipping soldering process. This becomes a dilemma.
It is thus desired to provide a connector assembly having guiding means for overcoming the problem discussed above.